Israel's President Shimon Peres casts his vote in the general election on Jan. 22. / Getty Images

by Ruth Eglash, Special for USA TODAY

by Ruth Eglash, Special for USA TODAY

JERUSALEM - With an array of messages and conflicting views, Israelis went to the polls Tuesday in an election that exit polls indicated would give the most parliamentary seats to the party of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, giving him a third term as Israel's leader.

"We are very skeptical that there will be any real changes from this election because there is no strong or united left-wing block and everyone is busy attacking each other," commented Ronit Levy, 29, at a polling station in the heart of Jerusalem.

Her friend, Shir Sasson, 30, however said she felt that might be some surprises.

"It is obvious that Benjamin Netanyahu will win but I hope there will be some change and perhaps even some small surprises," she said.

Netanyahu, 63, was expected to win a second four-year term according to the latest media polls. He had previously served a term as prime minister in the 1990s.

After casting his vote, he told reporters that a flood of ballots for his list "is good for Israel." The Central Elections Committee said 32 parties are vying for votes in the election. A party needs to obtain at least 2% of the total vote to gain a seat in Israel's parliament, the Knesset.

Israel's three major televisions stations reported Likud emerged as the largest faction according to exit polls but gains by a centrist newcomer party raised the possibility that he will be forced to form a broad coalition to take over the government.

The polls said Likud and its traditional conservative allies captured 61 or 62 seats in the 120-member parliament. With official results trickling in throughout the night, it was possible that the two sides could end in deadlock.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Netanyahu said he would reach across the aisle and try to form a broad-based coalition.

"According to the exit polls, it is clear that Israel citizens decided that they want me to continue to serve as prime minister of Israel, and that I form the widest possible majority (coalition)," he said.

Netanyahu's centrist opponents have said they would not join his government if he does not make more of a push for peace with the Palestinians. Netanyahu says he is ready for peace negotiations but that the Palestinians were making demands that left nothing to negotiate.

The centrist "Yesh Atid," party headed by political newcomer Yair Lapid captured as many as 19 seats, well above forecasts. That would position Lapid to become either opposition leader or seek a major Cabinet post if he decides to join Netanyahu's governing coalition.

Lapid campaigned on a platform for an end to the generous subsidies and draft exemptions given to ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities.

Ma'ayan Elkaslacy, 29 said that newcomer Yair Lapid, a former journalist, was the best chance to bring about change and a new future for Israel.

"I have a feeling there will be some changes because of new faces such as Lapid and (Bayit Hayehudi or Jewish Home party leader) Naftali Bennett," she said. "I really think these new voices will be very important in the next Knesset and might even join the government."

At rallies and in campaign ads, Likud and its ideological ally Yisrael Beiteinu and other right-wing parties emphasized their strength on security. Netanyahu launched an airstrike campaign against Hamas terrorists in November and has supported the construction of security fences that have nearly eliminated Palestinian suicide bomber attacks.

Polls show that the majority of Israelis continue to support a two-state solution, but only if it will bring them a true, lasting peace, a position that Netanyahu takes.

"The problem is that most Israelis consider the prospects for success in peace talks to be slim," writes Toby Greene, director of research at the Britain-Israel Communications and Research Center, in a political analysis published this week.

"They ask themselves, 'If we get out of the West Bank will there be peace?' Or will there be, as Netanyahu warns, the possibility of a 'third Iranian base' on Israel's borders, after Hezbollah-controlled south Lebanon and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip?"

Greene said the Palestinian Authority's "disinterest" in negotiating with Netanyahu, and unilateral bid for statehood at the United Nations last November has played into the hands of those Israelis who argue that there is no Palestinian partner.

Gerald Steinberg, a political scientist with the BESA Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, believes that "Americans and Israelis have the same goal: two states living side by side in peace. "

But whereas Obama considers Israeli settlements to be the No. 1 obstacle to peace, Steinberg said, Netanyahu â?? and many Israelis â?? say the real problem is the Palestinians' unwillingness to acknowledge that Israel has a right to exist.

If Israelis seem intransigent, Steinberg said, it is because "they live in a different reality" from the safe, secure life most Americans and Europeans enjoy.

"For almost 65 years," since Israel's founding, "Israelis have lived with warfare. The majority do not believe the current Palestinian leadership, and the hostility that really hasn't change in all those years, that peace is feasible in the short term," Steinberg said.

"Security issues are where we need to put our main resources and they should be in our first priority," he said referring to the Israelis along the border who have been pounded by rocket fire from anti-Israel Hamas. "When you see the suffering of the people living near the border, solutions in security are what our country needs."

Just down the street from a polling station on one of Jersualem's main thoroughfares, supporters of various parties continued their campaigns to convince the undecided to vote for them. Stephanie Benun, 23, from the left-wing Meretz party said she felt that despite talk of a more right wing, nationalistic government, there was still a chance that smaller parties could increase their representation in parliament and influence change.

And Da'am Workers Party activist Tali Klagesbrun, 31, said she was confident that her tiny party, which represents both Jews and Arabs, would pass the threshold and gain a place in the new political order

"All the other parties out there are only fighting for themselves, Da'am is here to make real change and fight for workers rights," said the Jerusalemite.

This time around, Da'am has attempted to rally support from Jewish voters, as well as Israeli-Arabs, who are not expected to turn out to vote in high numbers.

Lena Rubin, 44 an artist from Tel Aviv choose D'aam.

"This party really cares for the poor," she said. "They are not just talking slogans during elections they work all year round to help the poor."

Eliran Frg'ian 25, a law student, went for former foreign minister and Netanyahu opponent Tzipi Livni because "I consider her as a realistic option for real peace process. We gave Benjamin Netanyahu a chance, which he failed in.

Supporters of Naftali Bennett's ultra-right wing party were also confident of success. The star of the recent elections campaign and the only person that polls have indicated has really challenged Netanyahu's lead, Ovadia Bercechevsky, 23, said the former settler leader would be the big winner this time.

"We are hopeful there will be some real changes and we think that Bennett and Lapid can do that, even if it only means a different coalition formation," commented Jon Franzman, a recent immigrant from Britain.

But not everyone in Jerusalem was in the election spirit Tuesday. Shuki Cohen, 62, said he had decided not to vote because "I don't think it will make any difference."

"There is no party that really speaks for me, even though I hope that the smaller parties are able to bring Bibi (Netanyahu) down this time," he said. "There is only one place I vote for: the lottery, that is the only thing that could really change my life."